Life becomes more purposeful when you’re doing something good.” Brendan Locke
Cancer has a major impact on society in the United States and across the world and it is among the leading causes of death worldwide. Our VT Seva Detroit Youth Board members made an effort to alleviate some of the financial strain that cancer patients goes through.
VT Seva Detroit Youth Board successfully completed their 3rd annual hybrid walkathon on July 16, 2023, to support Angels of Hope - A Family Cancer Foundation supporting Michigan families impacted by Cancer.
This year's walkathon kicked off on June 16th immediately after the end of school year. VT Seva leadership team kicked off this event with a lot of energy and instill motivation in all of us.
Third annual hybrid walkathon was conducted for 30 days from June 16, 2023 to July 16, 2023.
213 participants , 43 team leads raised more than $3600+ and walked 7700+ hours.
By the end of the first week, 50% of the team leads registered, and overall around 50 people registered. And by July 16th, we have 42 team leads registered with 213 people. Many of the team leads went above and beyond and were able to recruit more than 4 members in their team.
Final day… On July 16th, the final walkathon day... with 60+ participants, We kicked it off with a yoga session by Srilatha , all participants got an opportunity to learn about Yoga and practice a few exercises.
Most importantly.. beneficiaries of the walkathon also joined the event, which is Angels of Hope and a cancer impacted person helped by this organization. It was eye-opening to many of the volunteers to hear the financial and mental problems that they go through and how their lives are impacted. Angels of Hope stood next to these people and helped them to pay their rent, utility bills as well as groceries and ensured they go through a speedy recovery. Hearing these directly from the affected people, all volunteers got motivated and inspired to help out more for this cause.
Joining this well-organized, thoughtful event really opened many of our eyes to how reality is for others who are still part of our community. It spread a lot of awareness to myself and my peers on struggles others go through, and how we can help them. In the end, we successfully raised more than $3,500 which will be used for the greater cause of helping cancer families. VT-Seva's Annual Walkathon will surely be an event that many of us will attend again due to its huge impact across many people.
One of our youth team Oviya Jaisankar donated her hair for the organization Wigs 4 Kids which supports the children who are impacted by cancer.
This event would not have been possible without our Team Leads! Huge shoutout to:
Varnika Jakka, Oviya Jaisankar, Abhiram Mudeganti, Hajanthan Muhinthan, Akshaya Palanisamy, Akshita Mylavarapu, Anvika Perumalla, Sreenika Perumalla, Aanya Das, Adhip Pisipati, Pelon Lin, Rishi Chowdhury, Saisha Srivatsan, Sathvik Tirumala Kanduri, Aditi Jethri Kompally, Akshay Kumar, Akshith Ashwanth, Anuraag Balaji, Arya Tarun Cheemalamarri, Eesha Chigullapally, Ishan Iyer, Jayanth Bhatti, Kalki Renga Anand, Rishi Adduri, Ruthvi Ala,Sai Sahasra Namuduri, Sai Sri Ram Karnati, Samhith Enganti, Sanjana Datla, Shivam Shah, Shivani Nimmagadda, Shraya Ved, Sneha Chandrasekar, Sriraam Hebbar, Supraja Pattangi, Teja Tanush Cheemalamarri, Varshan Muhinthan, Veena Karthik, and Vishnu Athreya
This year our team leaders not only walking and raising money for Angels of Hope, they were walking across national parks. Rishi Chowdhry a team leader put together a google map for all national parks in the contiguous states in USA. Many team leaders learned about those national parks and shared their learning with others.
On top of achieving the goal of getting at least 4 team members, some team leads exceeded that! This year’s winners are:
Individuals with more miles
1st Place - Kalki
2nd Place - Rithvik
3rd Place - Priyanka
Team with more miles
1st Place - Oviya
2nd Place - Adhip
3rd Place - Rishi C
Team Leads with more members
1st Place - Varnika (22 Members)
2nd Place - Oviya (14 Members)
3rd Place - Abhiram (9 Members)
This year’s Walkathon would also not have been possible without the parents who sponsored the snacks and drinks that kept all the participants' energy up! Thanks to the parents (Vidya ji, Jaisankar ji, Jisha ji, Nandhini ji, Nalini ji & Kanchana ji) who sponsored water bottles, fruits, snack bars, and cookies.
Not only did some sponsor for treats, but we would also like to thank the families and team members (Suresh Kaku (Sai Sriram) ji, Aarthi ji, Architha ji & Siri ji) that chose to donate more. We raised a $600 donation for this cause through this!
Thanks to 𝐔𝐭𝐭𝐚𝐦𝐣𝐢 for website creation and providing support with website maintenance and updates.
Thanks to all the volunteers who helped with setup to cleanup !
We are very grateful for a successful Walkathon this year, and thank all the contributors.
Reflection from few of our walkathon team leads!
Oviya Jaisankar:
This is 3rd year I’m participating as a Team Leader. Knowing the impact this project creates in the families impacted by cancer, I try to reach out more to contribute more. Moreover, this project motivates me to walk every day and stay healthy too. Prayers to all the families and patients impacted by cancer.
Veena Karthik:
It is very overwhelming for Cancer patients and their families when they are saddled with bills and out of pocket costs while dealing with life altering illness and treatments.
I was glad to be part of VT Seva Detroit - Angels of Hope partnership Walkathon 2023 to raise funds for those impacted families and help ease their financial strain during this difficult time.
This walkathon also helped our family to stay active during summer.
Anvika Perumalla:
The walkathon was a wonderful experience as I was able to raise money for those fighting cancer and see the true impact right in front of me at the finale. It made me realize that the impacts which I had created may seem insignificant to me, but it was instilling buckets of hope in others. I am so glad I was able to be apart of this opportunity and I wish to continue to spread joy in my community.
Pelon Lin:
It was a really nice event to attend. I really enjoyed walking throughout the whole Walkathon and the final kickoff event at Shiawassee Park. My family and I are very active people, and we each enjoy different forms of exercise, such as running, walking, swimming, and playing basketball. This Walkathon was really memorable to me because it was great seeing more than 200 people participate in the Walkathon to help support Angels of Hope. Although some people did not log mileage, this Walkathon helped encourage many people to walk, which will benefit their health.
Sreenika Perumalla:
When VT Seva started the walkathon this year, my initial feeling was just one more project with a focus on helping cancer-impacted people.
However, this thought process totally changed and made me a more changed (committed and motivated) individual by the end of the whole program. And I believe the same reflection is on youth as well as adults.
Video By: Adhip Pisipati
Blog Written By: Sreenika Perumalla
Blog Edited By: Priya Jaisankar